DIY Gilded Diamonds

The gem trend is here to stay and we couldn’t be more on board! Even Target has been hopping on the bandwagon with this alluring gold treasure box (darn you, Nate Berkus…we want everything you create!) and this decorative concrete diamond (hello, new coffee table accent).

Here’s a fun diamond-inspired DIY you can complete in a day or weekend – and the resulting gems have tons of uses whether you leave them raw, gild them with gold paint, write on them with metallic sharpie, or coat them with another unexpected color. A few of our favorite ideas:

Scatter them on a tray or mirror to up the glam factor in your home:

Use them as filler for a vase or hurricane. Add a candle or votive – and voila! Insta-centerpiece.

Scatter a few in your favorite planter to cover up bald spots and add a bit of shine to your love fern:

Cover your work surface with cardboard. Mix the cement according to instructions. ¾ cup of cement should be about right to fill one mold, and you would use ~3 tbsp water for mixing.

Fill the molds carefully using the plastic spoon. The cement should come up to the very top of the mold. You can soak up any extra drippings with a paper towel. But don’t worry too much – the extra cement will flake off once dry. Work quickly as the cement will begin to harden immediately. Once filled, gently tap the mold on a hard surface to remove any bubbles.

Now it’s time to relax, watch some New Girl, and let the cement harden. While the gems may be hard to the touch within a few hours, we’d recommend letting them sit overnight. Once hardened, peel/pop them out of the silicone.

If any ridges or edges are present, you may sand them off using medium-grit sandpaper. Looking good!

Now the fun part – painting! We used Martha Stewart’s gold gilding (also available in silver), but any acrylic or spray paint would work fabulously too.

To ensure that long-lasting shine we all love, we finished ours off with a top coat of clear sealant like Mod Podge. This isn’t necessary with the gilding paint, but definitely a good idea if you colored them with sharpie!